Chapter Eighteen
Jessie didn’t want to look up when the door opened. She knew who it was. “We’re closed,” she said, keeping her back to him. Why hadn’t she locked the door?
“Jessie,” Tony said.
She didn’t answer him. She didn’t need to. Instead, she hefted the tray of meat from under the counter and took it into the back. He followed.
Jessie stopped at the large refrigerator and Tony opened the door before she could do it herself. She paused long enough to glare at him before marching past him into the icebox. She dropped the tray down on a rack and pushed past him on her way out.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
He grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn and look at him. “I did it for your own good.”
“You have got to be kidding me. My own good? Don’t pretend you did what you did for anyone other than yourself.”
“You were getting in too deep and you know it! It was bad enough when it was just the Feds, but if Willie was sending one of his top guys in here, then things were about to go really wrong, fast.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about! Mario came in here because he likes to torture me. I had Willie handled. Another month and he would have been out of my hair.”
“You had Willie handled?” he shouted. “No one handles Willie. You were in over your head and you know it! Jameson shutting you down was the best way to get you out of this mess without you having to pick sides. You can get out of the game without Willie thinking you hooked up with the Feds, and Jameson gets his arrests and will have no further reason to harass you. It was the best way!”
Jessie tried to brush him off but Tony wouldn’t let her go. She sucked in several deep breaths, trying to control her rising panic. Part of her wanted nothing more than to throw herself in his arms and let him make everything all right. The other part just wanted to deck him.
“You’re a fool if you believe that. Do you really think Willie will stop sniffing around because my club got raided? Do you think Jameson is just going to let me go? You didn’t help me, you just put the last nail in my coffin!”
Her heart pounded so hard against her ribcage it hurt and she couldn’t blink back the tears that clouded her vision.
“Jessie,” Tony said, pulling her into his arms. “Baby, that’s not true. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but this is for the best, I promise you. I can help you.”
She shook her head, letting him hold her for half a second before pushing out of his embrace. “Help me?” She laughed, though it sounded more like a sob. She knew she was on the verge of hysteria and tried desperately to rein herself in. “You can’t help me, Tony. You’ve only made things worse.”
“Jessie…”
“Why don’t you go back to your Fed buddies? Or are they waiting outside? Did you just come in here to lead me out to them? Offer me up on a silver platter so you could get your precious career back?”
Tony’s face paled, his jaw clenched. “They aren’t my friends.”
“But you are working for them.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his body rigid. “I was. I’m not now.”
She shook her head in disgust and backed another step away from him.
“I didn’t know you, Jessie. I was hired to find the Phoenix. That was it.”
“You used me.”
“I never meant to.”
She snorted and crossed her arms. “Really?”
He sighed and looked away, his eyes roaming around the room before coming back to rest on her. “I didn’t mean…” He let out another exasperated sigh and raked his hands through his hair. “I just thought I could get some information on the Phoenix, a criminal. That was all. I didn’t know how involved you were. I never thought…”
“Well, now you know.” Jessie shook her head. She wasn’t being entirely fair. She’d known from the start what he was up to and she’d been in danger long before he’d come along. But he’d definitely made it worse.
“No,” he said, “I don’t know. I still don’t know what’s going on. I know you are involved, heavily. And in Jameson’s eyes, that makes you as much a criminal as the Phoenix. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you. Jameson will cut you a deal. Tell him what he wants to know and he’ll go easy on you. I made sure he’d get you a good deal before I agreed to anything.”
“You need to leave.”
“Jessie, just let me explain. We don’t have much time. You need to listen.”
“There’s nothing to explain. I understand perfectly. You wanted the Phoenix and you thought you could romance the information you wanted out of me. It didn’t work. End of story. Now you need to leave. I’d rather not have an audience when they haul me out of here in cuffs.”
Tony flinched, but he stood his ground. “All you have to do is talk. Give Jameson what he wants. If you give him the Phoenix, Willie, everything, you might even walk.”
“Get out.”
“Damn it, Jessica! Why are you being so stubborn?”
Jessie sucked in a deep breath through her nose, trying desperately not to cry. The Feds were probably waiting outside to arrest her. And if they didn’t get her, Willie would. His goons were watching her every move. They had to have seen Tony come into the shop and he’d been inside far too long. They’d think she was talking.
“Tony, please. Just leave.”
“I’m not going until you tell me what’s going on. This is more than you being mad at me. What’s got you spooked?”
Jessie froze at a noise from the front of the shop. “Did you hear something?”
Tony listened. “I’m not sure.”
“You’ve got to go,” she said, pushing him toward the door, her panic overriding everything else. “Willie’s guys have been watching my place. They know you are involved with the Feds. They think I’m feeding you info. If they see you here, I’m dead.”
“Jessie. Jessie!” Tony said, breaking away from her and taking her face in his hands to make her listen. “I can help you. If you agree to testify, the Feds will protect you. You’ve just got to tell them what you know about the Phoenix. Make it up if you have to, as long as you give them something real. Something, anything. The location of your gin stash. Give them something and they’ll agree to protect you from Willie and anyone else.”
A laugh burbled up from Jessie’s throat. She was losing her grip and slipping into hysteria. What a joke. Sure. If she wanted to keep Willie from killing her, all she had to do was turn herself in to the damn Feds. That would work out great.
“Jessie…”
Tony reached for her again, but Jessie backed away from him. “Leave. Please. Before it’s too late.”
Tony opened his mouth to argue again but was interrupted by the sound of a huge crash and glass shattering.
“Oh, no,” Jessie breathed, terror clawing at her throat. She ran toward the noise in the front of the shop.
She pushed through the swinging door that led to the front. Tony yelled, “No!” and pulled her back as a wall of heat and flying glass hit her, throwing her backward. She crashed into a rolling cart of shelves. Flames seared her from her burning apron and she screamed.
Tony grabbed her, yanking the apron over her head and beating at the flames.
“Are you okay?”
Jessie nodded. Her arm was singed and cut from the glass, and she was bruised and battered, but she didn’t think it was too bad.
Flames were everywhere, smoke filling the shop and flowing beneath the door into the back room. Tony grabbed Jessie and pulled her with him as he ran. They burst out of the back door and gunshots rang out. Tony yanked Jessie down into a squat and shoved her back through the door. Tires squealed as the car peeled off down the street. Tony slammed it shut and ran his hands over her.
“Are you hit? Are you okay?”
Jessie shook her head. “I don’t know. I think I’m fine.” She coughed. The smoke was growing so thick she couldn’t see the ceiling anymore. Fire licked at the door, closing them off from the front of the shop.
“We’re trapped,” Tony said, pulling her into his arms. His eyes searched around the room. She could feel his heart pounding against her back.
“No, we aren’t.” She lunged away from him.
“Jessie!”
“Follow me!” She crawled to the trapdoor and levered it up.
Tony followed her without further questions. Jessie ran down the steps into the blessed coolness of the cellar. Tony pulled the door shut behind him and they were sealed in the darkness.
“Jessie?”
“I’m here,” she called. She reached for him, her fingers closing on his outstretched hand as he slowly made his way down the stairs.
“We can’t go to your storeroom. The stone might prevent the fire from spreading down here, but just in case, a room full of liquor really wouldn’t be the best place to wait.”
“No kidding.”
“Then where are we going?”
Jessie didn’t answer, just pulled him along the path she knew so well. She didn’t need a light to tell her where she was. When they reached the end of the tunnel, she ran her fingers along the wall until she found the latch that would open the door into her office. Once inside, she felt her way to her desk and yanked open the bottom drawer where she always kept a spare flashlight.
She flicked it on and held it up high enough that she could see Tony’s face, being careful not to shine it right in his eyes. He stared at her, his face expressionless. “Where the hell are we?”
“The Red Phoenix.”
He quickly glanced around the office, then back at her. She couldn’t read his expression and was glad of it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was going on behind those deep, dark eyes of his.
She turned her back on him and yanked open another desk drawer. She tossed everything out of it, then reached in the back to unlatch the secret drawer beneath the false bottom. Tony watched in silence. She ignored him, but her heart ached at the thought of what he might be thinking of her.
Once she accessed the secret compartment, she grabbed a small stack of cash and the little revolver she’d purchased when she’d opened the speakeasy. She’d wanted to be able to defend herself if the need ever arose. No time like the present, that was for sure.
She risked another glance at Tony.
He arched an eyebrow. “We need to talk.”
Jessie snorted. Understatement of the year.
Tony grabbed her uninjured arm and took the gun from her hand. “Give that to me.”
She glared at him and opened her mouth to argue but he stopped her. “You can’t go out there armed. If the Feds catch you and you’ve got a gun on you…”
Jessie seethed, but knew he had a point.
“Besides, I’m probably a better shot than you. If Willie is still out there, we need every bullet to count.”
“Fine. Let’s go,” she said, leading the way into the main club. The rooms were built of thick stone, so she was relatively sure they were safe from the fire above, but she didn’t want to test her theory. And she didn’t want to be trapped in the chambers if Willie’s men decided to come looking for them.
Tony followed her through the pitch-dark tunnel, the beam of her flashlight flickering eerily off the walls and furniture. Keeping the club in complete darkness when it wasn’t open was one of her safety precautions. If anyone ever managed to get inside, she didn’t want to leave the lights on to show them the way. The hope was that any intruders would just get lost in the other passages without ever stumbling into The Red Phoenix.
Finally, they reached an outer tunnel that was rarely used because it led to an exit very close to the shop. Under normal circumstances, using such a close exit would be avoided, but this time Jessie needed to see what was happening with her shop and she didn’t want to have to run several blocks to do it.
They reached the door that led to the outside. Jessie pulled back the eye portal panel and took a quick look outside. The alleyway beyond the door was dark and empty and she pushed open the door, slipping into the alley. She prayed that Willie didn’t have anyone watching the shop. They had a decent shot since they knew she and Tony had both been inside when it had been firebombed. And she was the only one who knew about the tunnel leading from the shop into the speakeasy.
She stepped around the corner and got her first glimpse. Her shop. The front of the building was gone, destroyed in the explosion. The flames were spreading to the upper floors, pushing out the windows as they climbed. Her knees gave out as a wave of despair washed over her and she slumped to the ground. Her father’s shop, the reason she’d been doing all of this in the first place, was gone.
The orange haze made the night sky glow. It would have been pretty if it hadn’t been her heart and soul going up in flames. The wind blew in their direction, bringing the acrid scent of smoke and flame. In a few moments, the shop would be nothing more than a pile of cinders. The last connection she had to her father would be gone. And she’d be completely alone in the world.
Yes, her father had been gone awhile. But somehow, being there in his shop had made his loss a little more bearable. Like some part of him was still there. Still with her. That shop was the only home she’d known. The only place she’d known happiness. Love. Whenever she missed her father, all she’d had to do was look around. She could see his touch everywhere. Every nook and cranny held some memory of him.
The first floor ceiling caved in to where the main shop area had been, raining sparks and fanning the flames anew. Overwhelming desolation rose up to choke her and she hunched over, trying to huddle against the pain. It was like losing him all over again. She couldn’t do this. It was too much. She couldn’t bear any more. She moaned, the sound erupting from her lips like the keening of a wounded animal. Finally, the tears pushed past the lump in her throat and she let them come.
“Jessie.” Tony sat beside her and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms, holding her while she sobbed.
He rocked her, his hand tangling in her hair as he pressed her head to his chest, his lips brushing her forehead, kissing the top of her head. He held her, caressed her, murmured soothing nonsense in her ear until she cried herself out and just lay against him, exhausted.
“You’ve got to let me help you,” he said cautiously. “I know you don’t want to do this, but you’ve got to give up any information you’ve got on the Phoenix and the club. There’s no reason to protect anyone now. You need to worry about your own safety. Give up whatever you’ve got, the location of the operation, anything, and the Feds will put you under protective custody. You’ll be safe—from Willie and…anyone else who might mean you harm.”
Jessie let out a bark of laughter.
“You think they’ll protect me? Sure, until I give them everything I’ve got to bargain with and then they’ll hang me out to rot.”
“Jessie, I promise you, I’ll make sure you are protected. I’d never let anything happen to you. But my hands are tied if you don’t give up…”
“Who? The Phoenix? There is no Phoenix!”
Tony stiffened, his face going rigid, his eyes unreadable. She pushed away from him, at the end of her rope.
“Don’t you get it? I am the Phoenix. It’s my club. I run it. I’m the boss. There is no one else.”
Tony stood and stared at her. His face was pale but not surprised. He already knew. Had probably known for a while now.
“There is no Phoenix. And there is no operation. I wasn’t lying or hiding anything. I’ve told the Feds that a hundred times. I’m not making the stuff. I never needed to. My father made gin his whole life. You saw the cellar, and that was only a portion of what there is. I was just selling it so I could pay off my father’s debt to Willie. Then that would have been it for The Red Phoenix. So I’ve got nothing left to bargain for my safety. If I go to the Feds, they’ll arrest me for bootlegging. If I stay put, Willie will bump me off. My life is over any way you look at.”
Tony was breathing as though he’d run twenty miles, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide. Jessie just watched him and the fight drained out of her. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. And she’d lost Tony, too. He’d betrayed her, turned her over to Jameson to save his sorry career. There wasn’t anything left to fight for.
“Leave me, Tony. Leave me in peace. You’ve done enough damage for one day.”
Tony shook his head once and hauled her into his arms, his lips pressing against hers. Jessie struggled against him, shoving him away. Her depression evaporated, replaced by a fury so great she could scarcely breathe. She reached back and let her arm swing, her palm connecting with Tony’s face. The impact rang through the alley and shuddered up her arm, leaving an ache to match the one in her heart.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” she whispered, too furious and soul-sick to force the words louder.
Boots crunched on the gravel as the officers came running. Jessie backed away from Tony though her gaze remained riveted on him.
“Put your hands where I can see them!”
“Jameson, wait…” Tony said, moving to stand in front of Jessie.
“Get out of the way, Solomon, unless you want to be arrested along with her.”
Jessie stood and held out her hands. Tony didn’t move; he didn’t try to stop the officer who came over to cuff her. Jessie ignored Jameson, ignored the officer, though she cried out when he tried to wrench her arm behind her back. She just watched Tony.
His hands were balled into fists at his side, the vein in his forehead jumping. “Jameson,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “You can’t arrest her. She needs to be taken to the hospital. She was hurt in the explosion.”
Jameson didn’t look concerned in the slightest. “She’ll be taken care of, don’t worry.”
The officer started to lead Jessie away but Tony reached out and took her arm. “I’m going with her.”
Jameson’s face darkened and he clamped a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “You’ve done good work, Solomon. Now get out of the way.”
Jessie looked up at Tony, their eyes locked. He took half a step toward her but she shook her head.
It was over. The Feds had her. Tony had betrayed her. Her shop was gone. Let it be done. She turned her back on Tony and let the officer lead her away.